What we're here for
by Holmium
Summary: My first Hunger Games fanfic. I know, not many people like GlimmerxClove but I kind of like the idea. Anyway, it takes place during the 74th Hunger Games. Enjoy, please
1. Chapter 1

Clove stared out the window at all of the people waving from the platform. The train was about ready to leave District 2 for the Capitol. She heard the voice of her fellow tribute, Cato, next to her.

"You ready to win the Hunger Games and bring pride to our District?" Cato asked.

Clove nodded and smiled. "Absolutely, Cato! We've trained all our lives for the Hunger Games and one of us is sure to win."

Cato grinned. "That's the spirit!" He playfully tugged on Clove's bushy ponytail.

"I only wonder what the other Careers are like." Clove said thoughtfully. She held tightly onto her seat as the train lurched forward.

"Well, they're from 1 and 4, so of course they're going to be tough, just like us. Great allies, you know?"

Clove nodded. "I'll do my best to make them our allies."

"You'd better."

Clove was actually terrified of strangers. She had never been all that friendly and the other girls from District 2 were so annoying. They weren't quite as serious as she was when it came to fighting. All they cared about was winning. Clove wanted to win, of course—but the process of winning was just as important as the win itself. And she wanted to win with style.

Glimmer sighed and brushed a loose strand of shimmering blonde hair back behind her ear. She was feeling a bit lonely. Marvel, her fellow tribute, had locked himself back in his compartment and was planning a strategy for the upcoming Games. Glimmer was as well, of course.

"First, I'm going to make a good impression on the citizens of the Capitol." Glimmer thought. "I really need those parachutes!"

Glimmer was extremely pretty and her name suit her well. Her hair, her teeth, her eyes, even her TOENAILS glimmered. That would be because she had painted shimmery nail polish on her toes just that morning.

Glimmer was finally satisfied with the state of her mane. Wavy and shiny, with a touch of glitter hairspray. Exactly the way she liked it.

Hearing a grunt of frustration, Glimmer gently set down her hairbrush. "Marvel?" she called. "Are you okay?"

Marvel slid open the door of his compartment and gave Glimmer a dark look.

"Well, that can't be good…" Glimmer thought.

Marvel soon confirmed her thoughts. "The female tribute from District 12…"

"That's an outlying district. Nobody cares about 12." Glimmer snorted.

Marvel shook his head. "No…she volunteered. Volunteered for her 12-year-old sister. Didn't you hear about that? That really looks impressive to everyone in the Capitol. They're going to love her more than us! She'll get the parachutes and we'll just get ignored."

"Noooo! I won't allow it!" Glimmer wailed.


	2. Chapter 2

Clove and Cato were waiting calmly on the platform in the Capitol station. Their luggage was being unloaded at this very minute.

Actually, Clove was only pretending to wait calmly, and was doing a terrible job of it as well. She knew the Capitol was big, but no way was it this big! She suddenly felt like an outsider. Although District 2 had earned the nickname of the Capitol's lap dog, she herself had never seen the Capitol.

Or the people in it. Everyone's hair and skin was dyed in some odd color. Red, blue, green…even a rainbow person! They also had shimmering jewels implanted in their skin accentuating the most outrageous outfits. Clove felt like she was the odd one with her mousy brown hair and pale skin with freckles.

Suddenly, a train pulled in across the platform. Both Clove and Cato turned to observe the incoming Tributes. There was a giant "1" emblazoned on the train with the district symbol next to it.

The door slid open and the District 1 tributes gazed at their surroundings. The male tribute climbed down from the train carefully. The female tribute…gracefully flew down like a swan doing ballet.

Clove's fawn-colored eyes widened. "Holy cow…She's so beautiful…" she said in awe. Suddenly, Clove's eyes and the tribute's eyes met. The other girl smiled, noticing that Clove had come from the train labeled, "2." Clove's reaction was…slightly different. All Clove could manage to do was blush like a silly schoolgirl and glance at her toes.

"Why am I acting like this!" Clove thought angrily. "It's just my fellow Career tribute! I'm not supposed to have a crush on her! Oh no…already…"

"Marvel, why were you so worried?" Glimmer asked her district partner as they put on their costumes for the annual Tribute parade.

"Like I said, that girl from District 12. We need to keep a very close eye on her from now on."

Glimmer grinned like a cat. "Yeah, but did you see our fellow careers from District 2? The guy looked really tough and the girl…" Glimmer felt her face flush a bit, "She was cute, but she also looks like she can do some serious damage in the arena. Cato and Clove are their names, I've heard."

"Well, we'll find out just how good they are once training begins." said Marvel cautiously.

"Yeah." Glimmer said as she adjusted her feather hat. She and Marvel stood in front of a giant mirror and checked themselves out. Normally, their outfits would be called outright ridiculous. (Well, unless they were in Vegas, but that town had been destroyed over a century ago.) But this was the Capitol, and outlandish things fit right at home here. In this case, bright pink feathers, fluff, and sequins were perfect for the occasion.

An Avox girl leaned in the doorway and motioned for Glimmer and Marvel to come outside. She gestured towards a pair of black horses and a chariot. Marvel hopped inside and the Avox helped Glimmer up.

Glimmer and Marvel each took a deep breath.

"You ready?" Marvel asked.

"Yes. We're District 1, you know. We are the perfect representations of our District." Glimmer replied before tugging a strand of hair back to its rightful place.


	3. Chapter 3

Clove and Cato appeared to have just waltzed out of the Roman empire with their golden winged hats. They felt like it, too. District 2 produced weapons and Peacekeepers for the Capitol, so Roman warriors were the perfect costume.

The gates opened, and the horses and chariots formed a line. District 1 was first. Clove couldn't take her eyes off Glimmer, or more specifically, her hat. Bright pink feathers adorned with shimmering jewels matched perfectly with Glimmer's bright pink dress.

The national anthem of Panem started to play, and that was the signal for the chariots to march and the parade to begin.

District 1 was received just as well as expected. Clove snickered when Marvel got hit in the face with a bouquet of blue and purple roses. Then, someone decided to randomly dump a bucket of sparkles on Glimmer. So now, Glimmer glimmered twice as much!

Clove took a deep breath as her and Cato's chariot started forward. Clove put on her toughest game face just like Cato. The audience needed to realize that she was a formidable contender in the Hunger Games.

"They like us! They love us!" exclaimed Glimmer in excitement. She and Marvel were over halfway through the Tribute parade.

Suddenly, the audience's attention focused somewhere else. Their cheers grew twice as loud. Glimmer and Marvel were confused.

"What on earth…" muttered Marvel. He spun around and gasped. "Glimmer! It's that tribute girl from 12 that I warned you about!"

"What?" Glimmer asked, annoyed. "It's just 12. What could possibly be so…"

She spun around and gasped. "That can't be! They're…They're…ON FIRE!"

Now, she was just plain disgusted. All of the tributes and all of the audience had their eyes glued to 12.

The parade was soon over, and the chariots formed a group around a podium way up high. President Snow gave a speech but Glimmer was too fumed to listen. The tributes from 12, just an outlying district, stole their audience! Well, they were going to be her first targets. Hopefully, the other careers would feel the same.


	4. Chapter 4

The very next day, training began for all tributes. Clove was thrilled to finally meet Glimmer, the shining girl from District 1. Clove and Cato exited the elevator and swiftly spotted their fellow careers. Clove could hardly contain her exhilaration, but she forced herself to steadily walk over to the District 1 tributes.

"Hello, my fellow Careers." Glimmer said.

"Hey. We forming an alliance, or what?" Cato asked.

Glimmer and Marvel both nodded.

"All four of us." Marvel said.

"And don't forget District 4." added Cato.

Glimmer frowned. "I haven't gotten to talk with them yet, but I do have plenty of time." Glimmer turned to Clove. "You looked really cute in the Tribute parade last night, by the way. You're from District 2, so I assume you're good with weapons."

Clove gulped and nodded. "Yes. I know how to throw knives."

Glimmer grinned. "Throwing knives? That's going to do us some good!"

Clove blushed. "Well, I hope so."

"I think you're going to be a wonderful addition to our alliance. Now Cato, what are your skills?" Glimmer interrogated.

Clove didn't pay attention to the rest of the conversation. She already knew what Cato was capable of.

"Wonderful addition…" she thought to herself. "Glimmer said I'm going to be wonderful! This is most certainly something to be excited about."

Clove then took it upon herself to go talk to the tributes from District 4 to prove her usefulness.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm not too bad with swords, but I think I'm the best at hand-to-hand combat. I can snap people's necks in a matter of seconds." Cato explained confidently.

Glimmer nodded. "Marvel here is good with spears. Hey, where did Clove go?"

"Clove? Oh, over there by District 4."

"Thanks." Glimmer said, walking over to Clove.

"So, how is everyone?" Glimmer asked.

Clove and the District 4 tributes paused their chatting.

"We're doing great! They're really good with tridents, probably because they're from District 4 and all…" Clove replied.

The girl tribute began to look a bit nervous. "Uh…are you trying to get us to be allies?" she asked.

Clove looked surprised. "Yes…"

"District 4 is a Career district, after all." interjected Glimmer.

Now the poor girl looked very nervous. "Um…Actually, I'm already in an alliance." she said uncomfortably before dashing away.

"I don't know what's up with her." the other District 4 tribute said. "I'd be more than happy to join your alliance."

Clove smiled rather snake-like. "Good. I'm glad you know what's best for you."

Glimmer smiled as well. "Well, you can join Cato and Marvel over there. They're discussing what abilities they have that can prove useful in the arena. Clove and I are going to do our own training over thataway."

Clove's eyebrow raised. "Own...training?"

"Yes. You said you're good with knives. So show me."

"I will!" Clove said in a determined voice.

Glimmer quickly realized just how valuable Clove was going to be to their Career alliance.

"Wah-yaaah!" Clove yelled, hitting yet another dummy straight in the heart. She had just used up her last knife so she waited for Glimmer to say something.

"Clove, that was fantastic! Ten out of a grand total of ten targets hit! Just think about how many tributes we'll be able to kill!" Glimmer said excitedly.

Clove beamed. "Thank you. One of us is sure to win the Games, I'm sure of it!"

What happened next was, to be honest, totally and completely odd. Clove slowly looked up into Glimmer's twinkling eyes and gave her a genuine smile. Glimmer smiled back, reached down, and pulled Clove into a tight embrace. Clove let out a small gasp of surprise as she buried her pointy nose in Glimmer's soft, shiny hair. Neither Clove nor Glimmer cared about the 22 other tributes pausing their training to stare at them.

"Has anyone ever told you that your hair smells reeeeaaally nice?" Clove asked Glimmer in a daze.

"Yes. And thank you very much." Glimmer said, grinning.

"Are they..." a tribute from District 10 whispered to a tribute from 6.

"I'm..not sure." tribute 6 whispered back.

Clove was still a bit stunned (but in a good way) as Glimmer took her by the hand back over to the rack of knives.

"Well, let's get back to practice." Glimmer said with confidence. Suddenly, she noticed Clove was still dazed. "Clove? Clove? CLOVE! Are you there!"

"Yes." replied Clove as she set her eyes on the sharpest knife. Once again, she aimed at the target and hurled the knife, aim as close to perfect as you can get.


	6. Chapter 6

~Around two weeks later~

Clove stared out the window of her bedroom on the second floor. Her two weeks of training were over. She was surprised at just how fast the time had flown by. Clove had learned to camoflauge herself, find water, find food, and build shelter along with improvements on her knife skills. Glimmer had shown improvement as well. Clove quickly realized that although they hadn't known each other for long, she had developed feelings for Glimmer. Interesting feelings. But nice feelings all the less.

"Why am I in love with Glimmer?" Clove asked herself quietly. "I came here to kill and win, not have a crush on a fellow tribute!" But Glimmer was something else, you had to admit: beautiful, intelligent, and most important of all in this kind of situation, good with weapons. If only there was no such thing as the Hunger Games to tear people apart.

"You going to bed soon?" Clove's mentor asked, poking her head through the doorway.

Clove nodded. "Soon."

"Good. You really need some sleep for tomorrow."

The mentor shut the door and once again Clove was all by herself. She continued to sit on the window-ledge and gaze outside. The lights of the Capitol were so enchanting. Clove had never seen anything quite like it. The misreable Hunger Games...the city lights...and Glimmer. What a contrast.

Clove sighed to herself. "Is there even a chance I'll make it out of here alive? I mean, I know I've been trained my whole entire life, but..." Clove felt her heart sink. "The only way I can win the Hunger Games is if everyone but me dies. Including Glimmer!"

Clove's melancholy thoughts were thankfully interrupted. Someone was knocking on her bedroom door.

"Cato?" she called. Perhaps Cato wanted to tell her about a plan he had for killing off a couple tributes.

"Not Cato." a lovely voice replied back.

"Wait...Glimmer!" Clove was stunned when said Glimmer entered her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

"Yes, that's me." Glimmer said, smiling. She sat down gracefully next to Clove on the window-ledge. "I guess you couldn't sleep very well either, right?"

Clove shook her head. "No, I was just...pondering."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't interrupt you, did I?" Glimmer looked genuinely concerned.

Clove laughed. "Oh, no. Actually, your prescence is very welcoming."

"Oh?"

"Yes." Clove gulped. "Actually, I was thinking about you a while ago."

"That's interesting." Glimmer said with a mischevious look on her face. "I was thinking about you also."

Clove blushed. "I was thikning, you know...We're both skilled fighters, but only one of us can win the Hunger Games. And I've realized..." Clove paused, "that I've really come to like you in the past two weeks."

Glimmer's eyes twinkled even more than usual. "Well, in that case, we may as well enjoy a night together, before we are ripped apart by the horrible horrible Hunger Games."

Clove turned to Glimmer. "What do you mean! A...night together!" Now her face was a rather lovely shade of scarlet.

Glimmer didn't give a reply. She brushed a hand under Clove's chin and gazed into her chocolate-colored eyes. Glimmer's emerald jewels entranced Clove. Slowly, they leaned in towards each other. Glimmer held Clove while Clove snuggled tightly against her. They got closer and closer before tenderly kissing the other girl. Clove felt her heart race like that of a hummingbird's. This was so exhilirating! Glimmer felt the same way about her!

Reluctantly, they ended their kiss. Clove sighed in contentment.

"I take it that you enjoyed that." Glimmer said, beaming.

"Affirmative." whispered Clove.

Glimmer gently pushed Clove down on her bed, pulling the covers up to surround both of them.

"In case you're wondering, my mentor won't care that I'm gone." said Glimmer, forming a nest in Clove's bed. "Actually, I doubt she even noticed. Marvel and I believe she's kind of into the mentor from District 4 if you know what I mean."

"That's interesting." said Clove, yawning. She snuggled into Glimmer's arms once more for the night.


	7. Chapter 7

"Sooooooooooooo…." Marvel said devilishly. "I noticed that you didn't get back to our apartment until about an hour ago. I wonder why that is?"

Glimmer blushed as she sat down at the breakfast table. "That's not any of your business!" she snapped.

"As long as your rendezvous with whoever last night doesn't interfere with your performance in the games!"

"Clove is not a whoever!" Glimmer gasped and put a hand over her mouth.

"Clove!"

Glimmer sighed. "Yes, Clove." Seeing Marvel's stunned look, she added, "Clove is a lovely girl, really!"

"Like I said, as long as you perform well. Hey, has our mentor even returned yet?"

Glimmer looked around, grateful to be off the subject of Clove. (As much as she loved Clove, she realized she'd rather not discuss that with Marvel.) "I don't think so, or else she'd be joining us for breakfast."

"Geez, I was hoping she could give us some more advice before the Games begin." Marvel said in annoyance.

"I'm not sure exactly how much advice she could give us in two hours. Besides, we know our stuff." Glimmer said.

Glimmer quickly finished her breakfast and climbed into the tribute elevator. The elevator in the apartment building was very…in a word, luxurious. The ceiling was a mirror and if you felt like it, you could check yourself out. The walls were shiny glass, no smudge marks to be seen. There was even a little couch sitting next to the glass walls. Glimmer assumed that was for the District 12 tributes who had to ride to the basement all the way from the topmost floor. She pushed the button for the basement where the hovercrafts were parked, waiting to transport the tributes to the arena.

There were several tributes waiting for the hovercraft when Glimmer arrived. Clove wasn't one of those tributes much to Glimmer's chagrin. Glimmer found Cato, Marvel, and the male tribute from District 4.

"Clove here yet?" Marvel asked, smiling.

Glimmer shook her head, blonde curls flying.

"I think she was still getting ready when I left our apartment this morning." Cato said.

Clove was in the elevator. She felt a little sick from the butterflies devouring her stomach. She hoped that she wasn't too late and the other Careers weren't going to be too angry. She slept in a bit too late.

"Glimmer." Clove sighed. "What happened to getting plenty of sleep before the Hunger Games?" She was still exhausted from the night before.

Just then, the elevator doors slid open and Clove strolled out confidently. It didn't take long to spot the Careers: a small group of tough-looking tributes. Clove hurried over as fast as possible.

"You're late." Cato grunted.

"And? The hovercraft hasn't arrived yet." Clove snapped.

"We were going to go over last minute plans, you know." Marvel interjected.

"Well, then explain those plans."

"In short, take care of that tribute girl from 12." Glimmer informed. "I've decided she should be our first target."

Clove nodded. "Katniss, I think her name is."

"Well, her name doesn't matter. She's a tribute. A dangerous one, but still a tribute. But it doesn't matter. We'll get her for sure." Glimmer said with confidence before winking at Clove.

Clove felt herself blush again. Thankfully for her, two identical hovercrafts pulled in the basement and the whirring of the engines drowned out everything else.

Two Avoxes walked over to the herd of tributes and ushered 12 tributes in each hovercraft. Clove made sure that she sat next to Glimmer. The seatbelts moved on their own to lock each tribute in. One of the Avox girls was inside the hovercraft with a gun-looking thing. Clove winced as a tracking device shot into her skin.

Soon, the door to the hovercraft slid shut. Clove's stomach lurched as the hovercraft took off into the air. They were on the way to the arena and the biggest day of their lives.


	8. Chapter 8

Glimmer had no idea where she was. Well, obviously she was in the underground preparation room. But other than that, she could be literally anywhere in Panem. Actually, none of the tributes got to know beforehand where this year's arena was located.

Glimmer's prep team began to work on her appearance. Her blonde hair was going to be tied back in two braids to keep it out of the way. They were halfway done when an Avox walked in.

The Avox held out one hand towards Glimmer.

"What do you need?" snapped Glimmer.

"She needs to inspect your ring." one of the prep team members explained.

Glimmer felt a lump in her stomach. "My ring?" she asked uneasily.

Each tribute was allowed to bring something small to remember their district by when fighting in the arena. Glimmer took along a dazzling emerald ring from her district.

Glimmer reluctantly handed the ring over to the Avox. The Avox looked it over and noticed a small hidden button on one side.

"Drat." Glimmer thought as the jewel split open to reveal a poisoned spike.

The Avox shook her head and slipped the ring in her pocket.

"Glimmer…"

"Did you know about this?" Glimmer's prep team was a little suspicious.

"Maybe I did and maybe I didn't." Glimmer snapped. "There's no way to prove anything."

Clove was feeling sicker than Haymitch after too much liquor. It was only a minute until the tributes would rise up into the arena. She was already in the tube, her prep team finishing quite a while ago. Although Clove knew she was a great fighter, she was still extremely nervous.

Then, Clove remembered Glimmer and the night they spent together last night. Glimmer…her newly-found love. Clove was going to fight her best for Glimmer. Clove decided to forget about what she would have to do if only Glimmer and herself were the only two left in the arena.

"Ten seconds." A robotic voice rang out through all the preparation rooms.

Clove took a deep breath as she felt the platform beneath her rise up. Suddenly, she saw the twenty-three other tributes in a huge circle around the famous cornucopia.

Glimmer wasn't too hard to spot. She was only a few tributes over from Clove. Clove admired the fierce and determined look on Glimmer's face. What a change from last night! An interesting change, that is.

Glimmer found Clove and their eyes met. Glimmer sent Clove an encouraging smile. Clove smiled back.

The enormous timer on the top of the Cornucopia continued to flash numbers in descending order.

"10…9…8…"

The Careers were poised at the ready.

"7…6…5…"

Clove spotted a sharp knife she wanted.

"4…3…2…"

Alright, here we go…

"1"

A siren wailed and the Games began.


	9. Chapter 9

Glimmer dashed straight to the Cornucopia along with the other Careers. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Katniss dash away.

"Drat," She thought, "I wanted to kill her straight away. But I guess we can get her later."

Glimmer found Marvel, Cato, and Clove dividing the supplies in the middle of the corner of the cornucopia, occasionally killing a tribute. She saw the boy from District 4 that was in their alliance die.

"He was a decent guy." said Glimmer to herself. "Too bad."

Clove found several knives to her liking and spotted Katniss who had come back to grab a backpack. She began to throw knives at the retreating District 12 girl. Unfortunately, Katniss had used her backpack as a shield and escaped unhurt. Clove walked back to the Careers muttering to herself.

Glimmer frowned when she didn't see any weapons she favored. Only a bow and arrow hadn't been chosen by her fellow careers. Although it wasn't her strong suit, she was a Career. She could work with it.

The supplies were all divided and the four Careers decided they may as well make a camp around the supply pile. Cato had come up with a way to dig up the mines that surrounded each tribute's starting point. Now he was re-burying them around the supply pile so nobody but them could reach the supplies.

"I think I'll go help Cato." Marvel said to Clove and Glimmer. "You two can keep guarding the pile."

Glimmer and Clove nodded. They were happy that they could spend more time with each other right off the bat.

(A couple hours later)

Nightfall came and the Careers were getting a little restless. Nobody had the guts to approach the supply pile, and they felt like it was time for the Games to really get going.

"We've finished the mines, so there's no reason for you two to have to guard our stuff anymore." Cato said sensibly.

"Let's go hunting!" Marvel said with a malicious gleam in his eye.

Clove sighed. "I'm ready too, but I'd rather stay here with Glimmer."

Glimmer tugged playfully on Clove's ponytail. "Come on, girl. We'll have plenty of time for….fun after we kill someone."

Marvel and Cato shared an interested look.

Clove's eyes spotted something off in the distance. She realized exactly what it was. "Guys , I see smoke! There! Where's there's smoke, there are tributes to find!"

"Let's go!" ordered Cato.

And with that, the Careers marched off into the forest.


	10. Chapter 10

"Oh my God!" the female tribute said in shock. "Please, don't kill me!" The unfortunate girl was trembling at the sight of Glimmer, Clove, Marvel, and Cato. Somehow she knew that all the pleading in the world wasn't going to save her from the ferocious Careers.

She was found at the edge of the woods huddled around a campfire. The plump girl from district who-knows-what was trying to warm up. She thoughtlessly made a fire that would result in nothing good for her.

"But this is the Hunger Games," Glimmer said sweetly, "and we have to kill you."

"Aaaaaaaah!" the girl shrieked as Glimmer and Clove simultaneously knifed her. Blood was all over the place, soaking into the ground. Lucky for her, she died almost instantly. A cannon thundered to signal the fall of yet another tribute.

Glimmer and Clove gave each other a quick kiss in celebration. "Got her!" they cheered.

Cato raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Marvel?"

"Yes." Marvel replied with a smirk.

Cato was kind of astonished. "Okay…" he said.

Just then, the careers heard someone rustling in the bushes. They held their weapons at the ready.

"I know where to find Katniss." the figure said.

The Careers couldn't believe their eyes.

"Peeta?" Clove said in shock.

"Yes. That's me." Peeta said sinisterly. "And I know where to find Katniss."

Glimmer's emerald eyes grew wide. "Oooh, tell me!"

Peeta shook his head. "Not unless you let me join your alliance." he said.

The Careers shared a look.

"Should we?" whispered Marvel.

"Yes!" hissed Glimmer.

Clove just nodded.

"It's settled." said Cato loudly. "You're with us now."

Peeta nodded. "In the morning, I'll show you precisely where she is." he said. "Now, where's our camp?"

Cato motioned for Peeta to follow. Marvel was still a little bit hesitant of the whole thing.

"Don't worry. After he helps us find Katniss, we'll kill him." assured Glimmer.

"Yeah, he's actually pretty pathetic when it comes to fighting. He's a great target for my favorite knife." whispered Clove, caressing said knife.


	11. Chapter 11

The sun rose up from the clouds, and the second day of the Hunger Games began. The Careers and Peeta were sitting around a campfire eating breakfast. (They weren't worried about other tributes seeing the smoke. Anyone that tried to approach could easily be taken down.)

Glimmer finished gnawing on a piece of dried apple while the other Careers finished breakfast too.

"So," Glimmer asked, "Where is Katniss anyway?"

Peeta held his chin and thought. "Well, yesterday she was hidden in one of the trees in the very center of the forest. I will lead you to her."

Everyone put on their backpacks and followed Peeta. Clove and Glimmer brought up the rear, hand-in-hand. Clove was so happy, she almost felt like singing. Not only did she get to snuggle with Glimmer the night before, but she had also come up with a plan for her and Glimmer to stay together for the whole Games. First, they'd kill all the other tributes. Then, they would permanently camp out in the arena. They could build a little house in a cave or something near a water source. Of course, the Gamemakers would try to cause disasters to kill them, but they could survive. They were trained well. And if that wasn't going to work, well, then they'd somehow leave the arena. A double suicide. Nightlock berries, maybe? They could die together in peace. Inseperable.

"Shh..." Peeta said, sticking out an arm to halt the group. "She's up in that tree over there."

It was true. Katniss Everdeen had tied herself to an extremely tall tree and was now watching the Carrers warily.

Cato was very excited. "I'll get her!" he exclaimed confidently. He put his sword back into his backpack and started the ascent up the tree. Suddenly, a branch snapped and Cato landed less-than-gracefully back on the ground. Katniss gave a small laugh from the tree.

Glimmer snorted. "Uh, no. I will get her." Glimmer tugged the bow and arrows from her bag. It took her about two minutes to string the bow. Then, she took aim. She completely missed Katniss three times. Katniss grabbed the arrows and held on to them just to taunt Glimmer.

"Guys, she has to come down sometime. Why don't we make camp here?" Clove suggested.

"Great. The mines will protect our supplies for us anyway." Marvel agreed.

Clove and Glimmer stayed put to guard their new camp while Cato and Marvel looked for other tributes to kill. Clove stretched out, deciding to take a nap. Glimmer thought a nap was a great idea, but only because she was a light sleeper and would wake up if Katniss tried to escape. Glimmer pulled the sleeping bag around the two of them and pulled Clove really close to her. Clove sighed and dreamily went to sleep.

Clove and Glimmer were still asleep the next morning. Marvel and Cato had returned from the hunt and Katniss was still up in the tree. The Careers were all surprisingly exhausted. Yes, they'd been trained, but their training wasn't near as strenuous as the real Hunger Games.

Suddenly, a huge nest dropped unexpectedly from Katniss's tree. This was not just any ordinary nest. This nest was filled with tracker jackers, genetically modified wasps that had deadly stings.

The tracker jackers buzzed with unmatched fury. There were hundreds, no, thousands of tracker jackers. The Careers were awake instantly. They screamed as they were stung over and over and over again.

"Quickly! Run to the lake!" Cato shouted, batting the tracker jackers away from his face.

Clove thought of nothing else but escaping from the tracker jackers. Already she was beginning to hallucinate.

Finally, Cato, Marvel, and Clove reached the lake and dove into the cool, refreshing water.

Suddenly, Clove noticed something was very wrong. There were only two other Careers in the lake!

"Glimmer? Glimmer?" Clove called. Glimmer was nowhere to be seen. Heart sinking, Clove dashed back to the tree.

"Clove! Get back here!" Marvel and Cato shouted. But Clove wasn't going to go back until she found Glimmer.

It didn't take long. Glimmer was curled up not too far from the tree. Her once pale and shimmery skin was now covered in red blotches from the stings. Clove gasped.

"Glimmer...oh, Glimmer..." she cried, gently holding Glimmer's hand. It was already ice cold. Clove sobbed, tears flowing like waterfalls from her soft brown eyes. "I can't believe you're already gone..." she whispered. "I loved you...so much..."

Clove stood up and brushed her bangs out of her face. She blinked away the tears. Now her eyes blazed with nothing but pure hatred.

"For you, Glimmer, I'm going to get revenge. Katniss is going to die. As painfully as it is possible."


	12. Chapter 12

~Hello guys, short author's note here. I had originally planned to make this fanfic follow closely to the actual plot of the Hunger Games, but after seeing your suggestions I have decided that it would be more interesting to go off in a different direction. So please, keep reading! :) ~

A couple days passed and the number of tributes shrank to seven. Marvel had died by the hands of Katniss. So the Career alliance was now down to two. Cato wasn't all that upset by Glimmer's and Marvel's deaths. To him, it only meant that there were two less tributes that would get in his way. Clove, on the other hand, was even more enraged at Katniss for killing someone yet again in her alliance. Revenge was sure to be sweet. After Glimmer's death, Clove had gon absolutely insane. She didn't care about life anymore. If it moved, she stabbed it. Thankfully for Cato, she was sane enough to not stab him.

Suddenly, Seneca Crane's voice rang out through the arena. "Due to new technology in the Capitol, there will be a slight change in this year's Hunger Games. We have come up with...something. One of your fellow Tributes will come back to life and continue to fight in the arena. There will also be a feast at the cornucopia today. Each of you needs something...very badly. Good luck."

Clove felt a tiny glimmer of hope. "What if...What if they've brought Glimmer back? I've got to keep going..." she thought.

"Clove! Come on! We're going to the cornucopia." Cato ordered.

"It only takes one of us. I'll go." said Clove.

Cato nodded. "Go, then. I'll wait here. Don't screw anything up."

Clove headed off through the trees to the cornucopia, keeping an eye out for tributes. Just in case, she held her knife at the ready.

Fifteen minutes later, she arrived at her destination. Clove saw the table with the supplies on it.

Suddenly, a streak of brown caught her eye. Katniss! Katniss grabbed some medicine off the table. Clove watched her from behind the wall of the cornucopia. Katniss began to leave. Clove struck from out of nowhere, tackling Katniss straight to the ground.

"Aaaah!" yelped Katniss in surprise.

"Oooh, you're going to be dead now!" smirked Clove, an insane and bloodthirsty gleam in her eye.

Katniss struggled, but Clove pinned her down. She held up her knife above Katniss's forehead. Katniss grunted and tried to wrestle Clove from her. She wasn't very successful. Clove gripped the knife even tighter and grinned.

"You're gonna be dead. We'll kill you." she snarled. "Just like that little girl from eleven. Rue, right?"

Suddenly, Clove felt strong, thick arms yank her off Katniss.

"Uh oh..." Clove thought.

"Rue? You killed Rue?" the other tribute from 11 growled.

"No! Cato! CATO!" Clove wailed.

The tribute grabbed Clove by the neck and picked up a nearby rock. Clove's eyes grew wide as she realized what he was going to do.

Suddenly, the huge tribute went limp and Clove dropped to the ground. She brushed herself off and looked to see what happened to the tribute.

A silver knife was sticking from between his shoulder blades.

It didn't take long to see whose knife it was. Clove just couldn't believe her eyes.

The tribute was standing not so far away with a smirk of confidence on her pretty face.

"GLIMMER!" Clove felt a rush of joy overcome her.


	13. Chapter 13

"Glimmer! You've come back!" Clove exclaimed.

Glimmer nodded. "Yes." she said, smiling.

Clove dashed over to Glimmer and they hugged.

"Oh Glimmer...How on earth did they revive you?"

"Well, from what I heard, they first used antivenom and then put me through some strange machine. Apparently, the Games weren't exciting enough and that's why the rules changed." she explained.

"I'm so happy you're back..." Clove whispered, burying her nose in Glimmer's hair.

"Me, too. Did you see where Katniss went?" Glimmer asked.

Clove let out a cry of frustration. "Oh, nooo! I can't believe it!"

Glimmer shrugged. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. We'll get her soon. Now, who's left? Where's Cato? Where's Marvel?"

Clove's eyebrows furrowed. "Well, Cato's alright, but Marvel was killed by Katniss."

Glimmer snorted. "That figures."

"Yeah. The girl from 5 is left, and the two tributes from 12. And Cato. And, well...us."

Glimmer nodded. "Okay, so Cato we can take care of in secret. We're really only going to have to fight the girls from 5 and 12 and the guy from 12."

Just then, a cannon went off.

"Wonder who that was?" asked Clove.

Glimmer looked at the sky. It was just about evening. "We'll know in a minute or two."

Clove and Glimmer sat down to wait inside of the cornucopia. Clove suddenly turned to get a good look at Glimmer. There was almost no sign whatsoever of the tracker jacker stings.

"Looks like the Capitol did a pretty good job of patching you up." murmered Clove.

"Well, it's the Capitol. They spare no expense." replied Glimmer.

"Well, you are the prettiest tribute by far." whispered Clove, blushing.

Glimmer smiled. "Thank you. You're pretty attractive yourself, you know." She gently lifted Clove's chin and they kissed.

A few minutes later, the national anthem of Panem rang out through the arena. Clove and Glimmer left the cornucopia to get a good look at the sky.

"The ginger." said Glimmer. "I wonder how on earth she died?"

Cesar Flickerman began to explain about Nightlock berries and how the girl from 5 had accidentaly eaten some.

Clove smirked. "Must be pretty awful to have died like that and have the entirety of Panem know about it."

"Hey!" Glimmer pouted.

"Oops.." said Clove. "But those tracker jackers are fearsome! Much worse than some old berries. Yeah. Exactly."

"Good save." said Glimmer. "Well, you want to go find Cato and take care of him?"

Clove nodded. "Sure."

The tributes left the cornucopia and crossed the field to the line of trees.

Suddenly, something snarled from behind a bush.

Clove gasped. "Oh my goodness!"

Glimmer thought quickly. "Quick, up the tree!"

Clove and Glimmer scrambled up the trunk of the tree and got a good look at the aggressive beasts now dashing along the ground. They saw Cato speeding to the cornucopia right below. And on the other side of the field, Katniss and Peeta were attempting to outrun more vicious mutts. Cato, Katniss, and Peeta were going to collide in a matter of seconds. The Capitol wants excitement? Well, here it is.


	14. Chapter 14

Clove and Glimmer watched as Peeta and Katniss scrambled up the side of the cornucopia. The muttations snapped and chomped, almost shredding one of Katniss's feet in the process. The two District 12 tributes stood on top of the cornucopia to catch their breath.

"You okay?" Peeta asked Katniss.

"Yeah. You?"

"Fine." Peeta paused uneasily. "Wait...what's that?"

A third figure had reached the top of the cornucopia.

"Cato!" gasped Katniss.

"Well, well. The District 12 tributes have escaped the muttations as well." Cato said smoothly. Katniss noticed that Cato looked a little worse for wear. He had several minor wounds and he had a little blood trailing down his cheek.

"What do you want?" asked Peeta harshly, although the answer was pretty much clear.

"This is the end. We're done. One of us is going to win." snarled Cato. "And even if I don't, I'm going to bring pride to my district."

Before Katniss or Peeta could react, Cato grabbed Peeta and held him in a headlock. He took a struggling Peeta back to the tail end of the cornucopia away from Katniss. Peeta tried to wrestle himself out of Cato's iron grip, but it was no use.

"Peeta!" cried Katniss.

"Time to feed these mutts." whispered Cato with a crazy gleam in his eye.

"No!" Katniss said. She strung her bow and aimed it straight at Cato.

Cato shook his head. "You can't shoot. You'll miss and accidentaly hit him. Bad idea."

Katniss adjusted her aim away from Cato's forehead. She let go of the string and shot an arrow right at Cato's hand. Cato yelped and let go of Peeta. That was his mistake.

Peeta was stronger than Cato had realized. Using up most of his strength, Peeta shoved Cato right off the cornucopia. The muttations were waiting.

Katniss grimaced at the sight. She shared a glance at Peeta. Peeta nodded, and Katniss shot her bow. It was a mercy killing this time.

The cannon boomed, scaring the muttations. They ran back into the forest, snarling all the way.

"Wait...wasn't that the last of the tributes?" Peeta asked, dusting off his hands.

Katniss concentrated. "Wait...no, it wasn't! There's still two more out there somewhere."

"That's right." Glimmer and Clove had seized their chance once the muttations had gone away.

Katniss and Peeta gasped. "Glimmer and Clove!"

Before the other tributes had a chance to fight back, Clove and Glimmer each hurled a knife through the air. The two knives found their targets. Katniss and Peeta collapsed, bleeding.

Katniss looked over at Peeta. "I guess this is the end..." she whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." She coughed up blood.

"No, I couldn't protect you." Peeta weakly reached out for Katniss's hand. "Katniss...I really, really love you."

"I love you too, Peeta." whispered Katniss.

The cannon boomed twice.

Clove felt a pang in her heart. "I didn't realize that they really did love each other..." she whispered.

Glimmer looked a little sad as well. "I thought it was all just an act. At least they're together now."

Clove snuggled into Glimmer's arms. Glimmer gently patted the smaller girl.

"It will all be okay, I promise." Glimmer whispered.

Suddenly, Seneca Crane's voice boomed through the arena. "What are you two doing? Fight already!"

Glimmer let go of Clove and looked up at the roof of the dome. "I think not." she said in a confident voice.


	15. Chapter 15

Seneca Crane was taken aback. "What?" he said. "No. Fight!"

Clove shook her head. "No, we're not going to."

"But.." The head gamemaker had no idea what to do now.

"Do what you want, we don't care." said Glimmer, frowning. "We're all set to live in the arena. There's still plenty of supplies, and water, and shelter. We could live here for a long time."

"Well, we can take all that away. We have the technology." Seneca was getting angry. Here this was all being broadcast on live t.v., and he looked like a fool!

"Oh, well, look over there! Isn't that a bush full of nightlock berries?" Glimmer retorted. "We don't have to have a winner for the 74th annual Hunger Games, do we?" Glimmer grinned maliciously. "Clove and I are prepared."

"Yeah, we're going to be together. And not you nor your stupid Games are going to stop us." said Clove as loud as she could.

Everyone that was watching the Hunger Games was stunned. Nobody had dared to go against a Gamemaker like that!

Seneca coughed. "Well...you two are both from Career Districts, the districts that are the most loyal to our lovely Capitol, so...um...Ladies and Gentlemen, I declare our winners of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Glimmer from District 1 and Clove from District 2! Congratulations!" he said hurriedly.

Just then, the dome surrounding the arena opened up to allow a hovercraft to enter. It landed with a thud, and Avoxes ushered the girls inside.

Clove was absolutely giddy with excitement. "Glimmer! We've won!"

Glimmer smiled a half-smile. "Yes, we did, but who knows what they're going to do to us now?"

Clove frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you realize? We've defied the Capitol. Somebody is going to pay for that. I wonder if that will be us..."

Clove shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Our districts are very loyal to the Capitol, right? The Capitol needs us. They need our districts. If they were to kill us, then don't you think the districts would revolt?"

One of the Avoxes nodded and pushed a button. A projector turned on, and the Avox aimed it at one of the walls in the hovercraft. Clove and Glimmer just stared.

"What district is that?" Clove asked.

"I don't know. Keep watching." said Glimmer.

This appeared to be a newsreel form a day or two ago. "Angry mobs have attempted to riot in District 11." said a reporter. "Ungrateful citizens were daring to defy the Capitol. If it weren't for the peacekeepers, there would be no more District 11."

The projector switched off.

"Wait...wasn't this after that little girl died?" asked Clove.

The Avox nodded.

"But why make a fuss over a tribute? Twenty-three of them end up dying in the end." said Glimmer.

"I don't know...was there something odd about how that girl died?" Clove asked the Avox.

The Avox nodded again.

"So...if the Capitol were to kill us off after it being apparent that we loved each other, then..."

"Our districts would riot against the Capitol. See where I'm coming from?"

Glimmer nodded slowly. "I do now. They need luxuries and Peacekeepers."

"Mmm-hmm. Now, do you mind if I take a nap? I'm exhausted." said Clove.

"Go ahead. I'm tired too. And I think it's quite a ways back to the Capitol. So..sweet dreams." whispered Glimmer.

The Avox flicked off the lights and the interior of the hovercraft became dark enough for sleeping.


	16. Chapter 16

The hovercraft landed in the main plaza of the Capitol. Clove and Glimmer exited the hovercraft to the cheers of everyone watching. Glimmer smiled and waved to everyone just like before. Clove smirked and looked tough.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention?" a deep voice boomed throughout the plaza.

Everyone hushed and turned to face the speaker, President Snow.

"Our winners!"

The cheering and clapping continued. Nobody cared that there were two winners. In fact, that only made this year's Hunger Games more exciting.

President Snow stepped towards the two girls with two identical tiaras. He gently placed the first in Glimmer's hair and the second in Clove's.

The crowd gave a thunderous roar of excitement as Glimmer and Clove smiled and bowed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Clove looked at Glimmer. "Wow, she's so dazzling and that tiara really sets off the glow of her hair..." she thought.

Glimmer noticed Clove looking at her and winked. She extended a hand to her partner and Clove grapsed it tightly. Then, they raised the hands they holding into the air.

"We did it, Clove!" said Glimmer.

"Mmm-hmm." said Clove, smiling.

A few minutes later, the ceremony was over and people were leaving to go back home. Soon, the plaza was quiet again as though nothing had happened. Clove and Glimmer sat down on the landing platform.

"What do we do now?" Clove asked.

"I don't really know." Glimmer frowned. "I guess...we head on back to the tribute apartments. Someone there will direct us to where we're supposed to be."

"Sounds good." agreed Clove.

The two girls began to walk off in that direction when suddenly, they heard footsteps behind them.

"Girls, I would like to have a word with you." a scratchy voice said.

"President Snow!" they said in unison.

President Snow stepped eerily close to them. Clove shivered a bit. "What is it?" she asked quietly.

"Do you realize what you two have done?" President Snow asked.

"No, not really." Glimmer replied tensely.

"You've made the Capitol, as well as myself, look like complete fools."

"How?" Clove asked nervously.

"The Hunger Games is to have one winner, and one winner only. And there seems to be two of you, alive. I can't have that."

"What do you mean!" Glimmer said, eyes wide open.

"What...what...what...are you going to do?" Clove stammered.

President Snow said nothing. He looked around carefully, and pulled a gun out of his coat pocket.

"So, which one of you will it be?" he asked, gruffly, aiming it back in forth between Glimmer and Clove. "Who's going to have the unfortunate accident, and who's going to be the winner of the 74th Annual Hunger Games?"


	17. Chapter 17

Clove and Glimmer gasped. President Snow looked like he meant serious business.

"How could you!" Glimmer protested, suddenly getting furious. "We've already won!"

"Yes, but you see...defiance has its consequences." Snow said calmly.

"We're in the middle of the Capitol, if you shoot, everyone will see!" protested Clove. "There's no way for you to get away with this!"

"Does it look like I care? I AM the president, after all." Snow held up the gun, finger on the trigger. "Now, one of you better volunteer. Or else I'll kill both of you."

Nobody moved. All was silent.

"In that case..." Snow started.

BAM! BAM! Two gunshots rang out. Blood trickled out all along the ground.

"Clove!" Glimmer cried.

"Glimmer! What just happened!" Clove asked in a panic.

Someone had just shot President Snow, one bullet in the knee and another in the gut. Suddenly, the shooter identified himself.

"Seneca Crane!" Clove and Glimmer said. "Did you..."

Seneca nodded. "Indeed. Wait just a moment, that pighead is still alive." Seneca kicked Snow so he could look him right in the eyes.

"Seneca!" Snow choked. "I thought..ugh...I killed you...the nightlock!"

"No. I have been building up a resistance to nightlock poison for several years. Yeah, it knocked me out, but I'm still here. You won't be, however."

BAM! Snow was gone for good.

Clove and Glimmer were stunned. They were unhurt, just a little shaken up.

Finally, Glimmer asked, "Seneca, why did you save us?"

"Yeah!" Clove added. "You're supposed to try and kill us, you're the Head Gamemaker!"

"Please follow." Seneca said, motioning the girls over to a nearby bench. He sat down and sighed. "I was the Head Gamemaker. Snow really did try to kill me. Because I let you two live." he chuckled.

"Why did you let us live in the first place? What was in it for you?" Glimmer asked, puzzled.

Seneca sighed. "It was all because of her."

"Her!"

"Mmm-hmm. Ten years ago...the 64th Hunger games...I was at the good old age of twenty-two. It was the first Hunger Games where I was a Gamemaker. Not the Head one, just plain Gamemaker. Anyway, there was one tribute from District 7. She was eighteen at the time. Boy, was she dazzling. Ever since the interview, she had caught my eye. She eventually went on to win the Hunger Games. The night of the winning ceremony, we met for dinner. She was just as fantastic as I thought. We had a wonderful time together." Seneca frowned. "But we had only been in a relationship for two months when Snow caught word of its existance. His reasoning was that if I was in love with a victor, then I'd go too easy on the next year's tributes. So he arranged for her to have a little accident." Seneca's eyes began to swim. "She was back in her district, helping with the tree harvest...and one day, a tree just...fell on her. Looked like an accident. But it was all Snow's doing." Seneca wiped his eyes and turned to face the girls. "And that's why I saved you. To get revenge, and also so another love couldn't be destroyed."

"Wow..." whispered Clove. "That's..so awful! About the District 7 girl, not that you saved us." she added hastily.

"What a horrible creature!" Glimmer was appaled. "I'm glad he's gone for good." Suddenly, she realized. "But who's going to be the new President?"

"I...I don't really know." Seneca said. "But...a long time ago, there was something called a democracy. Where everyone voted to choose their leaders. Everyone was free to have an opinion, to believe what they wanted without any fear. I think...we should try that again."

The girls nodded and smiled.

"Panem can finally be free!" said Clove.

"We won't be pawns anymore!" said Glimmer.

"Exactly!" said Seneca. "In fact, we'll send the news out tomorrow that there's going to be an election for the new President of Panem. In the meantime, us three will act as President to prevent riots and whatnot."

"It's a deal." They all shook hands.

Seneca looked at the sky and noticed the sunset. "Now, you girls should go on back to the tribute apartments. Well, they're not tribute apartments anymore really, but you get the idea. It's getting kind of late, and you girls need your sleep."

"Mmm-kay." said Glimmer, waving.

"Goodbye!" said Clove.

The two girls held hands and strolled happily back to the apartments.

Five hours later, Clove woke up with a start. "Where am I? Is this all just a dream?" she asked. Clove blinked and realized where she was. "Huh, I guess it wasn't." The moonlight flooded in through the window, illuminating everything in a soft light "Glimmer..." she whispered. Glimmer looked so angelic. Clove brushed a strand of hair out of Glimmer's face. "You're so beautiful...I am very thankful we're together."

She lightly kissed Glimmer before snuggling back into her arms.

~The End, for now~


End file.
